2015-2020 Strategic Plan

In October 2015, our Board of Trustees met to consider and endorse our 2015-2020 Strategic Plan. It was a data-rich conversation about the multifaceted mission of our University. The dialogue underscored our commitment to our objectives and action steps; the specific ways we plan to measure progress; and the ambitious path we plan to forge for the future.

Following that dialogue, the board strongly endorsed five strategic objectives and the related strategies and metrics for our plan:

Undergraduate Student Success - To be the University of choice for aspiring undergraduate students, within the Commonwealth and beyond, seeking a transformational education that promotes self-discovery, experiential learning, and life-long achievement.

Graduate Education - Strengthen the quality and distinctiveness of our graduate programs to transform our students into accomplished scholars and professionals who contribute to the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world through their research and discovery, creative endeavors, teaching, and service.

Diversity and Inclusivity - Enhance the diversity and inclusivity of our University community through recruitment, promotion, and retention of an increasingly diverse population of faculty, administrators, staff, and students, and by implementing initiatives that provide rich diversity-related experiences for all, to help ensure their success in an interconnected world.

Research and Scholarship - Expand our scholarship, creative endeavors, and research across the full range of disciplines to focus on the most important challenges of the Commonwealth, our nation, and the world.

Community Engagement - Leverage leading-edge technology, scholarship, and research in innovative ways to advance the public good and to foster the development of citizen-scholars.

This process truly involved the entire Wildcat family; faculty and staff chairs and volunteers led the strategic plan process, while faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters contributed meaningful feedback during town hall forums and other opportunities for input. Because of you, we have a plan that will extend and enhance our work over the next several years.

We are emboldened by our shared progress, but it will take a collective effort by the entire UK family as we write the next great chapter in the history of the University of Kentucky.

The University of Kentucky is a public, land grant university dedicated to improving people's lives through excellence in education, research and creative work, service and health care. As Kentucky’s flagship institution, the University plays a critical leadership role by promoting diversity, inclusion, economic development and human well-being.

The University of Kentucky:

Facilitates learning, informed by scholarship and research;

Expands knowledge through research, scholarship and creative activity; and

Serves a global community by disseminating, sharing and applying knowledge.

The University contributes to the economic development and quality of life within Kentucky's borders and beyond, nurturing a diverse community characterized by fairness and equal opportunity.

UK Strategic Vision

As Kentucky’s indispensable institution, we transform the lives of our students and advance the Commonwealth we serve – and beyond – through our teaching and learning, diversity and inclusion, discovery, research and creativity, promotion of health, and deep community engagement.